Extra Innings Affair Goes Wrong Way for Dukes in Series Finale

Sunday, May 14

Harrisonburg, Va.

1 p.m.

James Madison University

29-21, 14-11

Old Dominion

31-20, 14-13

Old Dominion

James Madison

Extra Innings Affair Goes Wrong Way for Dukes in Series Finale

5/14/2023 5:41:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison baseball was on the wrong end of an 11 inning contest as it fell, 8-5, to Old Dominion in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Park in Sun Belt Conference baseball.

The Dukes had their five-game win streak snapped and fell to 29-21, 14-11 SBC while the Monarchs improved to 31-20, 14-13.

Redshirt junior Donovan Burke started for the Dukes and went 2.2 innings while striking out a pair. At the plate, graduate Jack Cone led the way by going 3-for-3 with a double, a run scored, an RBI and two walks.

Vincent Bashara (3-0) earned the win for ODU while Joey DeChiaro earned his first save of the season.

How It Happened
First Inning
The Dukes got out front four batters into the bottom of the first after loading the bases and freshman Mike Mancini hitting a grounder to second to score Cone. Redshirt senior Kyle Novak then doubled in the remaining two runners two batters later for a 3-0 lead.

Second Inning
Sophomore Ryan Dooley led off the inning with a walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and then scored on a single by Cone to extend the JMU lead to 4-0.

Third Inning
The Monarchs made it a one-run game with one swing of the bat as a home run from Jay Tarkenton knocked in three runs.

Fifth Inning
A leadoff homer from Kyle Edwards for ODU tied the game at four.

Sixth Inning
ODU took a one-run lead in the sixth after three walks loaded the bases. A soft chopper to third with one out was enough to push home a run.

Ninth Inning
Trailing 5-4 into the ninth, Novak led off the bottom of the inning with a single before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt and then stealing third. After graduate Jaylon Lee walked to represent the winning run, sophomore Coleman Calabrese executed a squeeze bunt perfectly to score Novak and tie the game. The Dukes had a chance of walking the Monarchs off, but a good throw from right field nabbed Lee trying to score from second on a single by redshirt junior Mason Dunaway for the final out to force extras.

11^th Inning
Back-to-back singles and an intentional walk loaded the bases for ODU in the 11^th inning. A grounder to third that was stopped by a diving Calabrese allowed the go ahead run to score before a two-run single two batters later provided insurance runs and an 8-5 lead.

Up Next
The Dukes host Virginia Tech on Tuesday, May 16 in their home regular season finale for a 6 p.m. start before concluding the regular season with a three-game set at Georgia Southern on May 18-20 with seeding implications on the line for the Sun Belt Conference Championship.